The Guardian Stones
by LoveLoveLovix
Summary: After the death of the Winx Club, Roxy is entrusted with the souls of the six girls. When the souls of the Trix get mixed in with them, Roxy's job suddenly becomes a lot harder. How can she keep nine girls just discovering their powers from unintentionally destroying the world? Who is the reincarnation of who? And who will stop at nothing to have the old Winx Club back?
1. The Greatest Gift Of All

**The Guardian Stones  
A Winx Future Fic**

_Chapter One: The Greatest Gift of All_**  
**

Bloom never thought this day would come, but it had.

She stared at the gemstones in her hand, then at the book lying on the table of her parents' home in Gardenia. It was a storybook, a tome of magical legends. Of course, as with most magical tomes, it was hard for Bloom to tell which were stories and which were real. She had been sure the one about the talking bunny was fiction, but now that she knew Roxy, she had her doubts.

The fate of the universe, and of the entire Winx Club rested on one of the stories in this book, the tale of the Gems of Arcelia.

According to legend, a fairy named Arcelia had crafted gemstones for a group of her friends. These gems were connected to their powers, their souls. When the Wizards of the Black Circle killed them, the fairies' magic remained living in these gems.

Maybe it was a lost cause. But everything Bloom loved was in danger. The Trix had zeroed in on Earth as their newest target. They now wanted it because it was newly filled with magic, but because of how recent the rebirth of magic was, the planet was weak. The three witches had grown strong quickly, and even the Winx were having trouble battling them back. Bloom could only think of one way to stop them, and most likely, that would result in the death of the entire Winx Club, as well as the Trix.

But if the girls' souls could live on in another… would that truly be death?

Could she recreate the Spell of Arcelia? Well, in a sense, Bloom was a goddess. She definitely was the most powerful fairy in the universe, at least. Glancing back down at the book, she touched the gemstone. Whispering a few words in an ancient language, she sent her energy into the gem.

The feeling of it was odd, off somehow. It felt like there was no magic inside of her. She held out her hand and cast a spell, just as effortlessly as ever, but the magic didn't come from inside of her anymore. It was like… like a prosthetic limb, or at least she imagined that was like it was like.

But the spell had worked. It wasn't just a legend that mothers told their young fairies before bed. At least part of it was real.

Bloom suddenly shivered as a shadow fell over her. She looked out the window and saw a bird flying away… quite a large one, dark and mysterious. For a moment, she wondered if it had been looking at her, but she shook the feeling off as nervousness.

She looked at the gem she placed her powers into. It would have helped, maybe, if she had gotten different colors, but instead she had just grabbed the first stones she found in that crazy New Age store she had gone to, so each of the six stones were plain old rose quartz. Pretty, really, but all a flushed shade of pink and all small and round. The only way Bloom knew the one that was hers was because of the connection she felt with it.

She placed the six stones in a small bag. She had errands to run.

* * *

"You mean… this is what it will take to defeat the Trix?" Flora asked softly.

Bloom nodded. "They've gotten a lot stronger, and I think it's because they absorbed the power of the Shadow Phoenix. I thought we had defeated it years ago, but I guess balance has to remain."

"So if balance has to remain, and we defeat them, it means we die too. So saving our powers and our souls is the best we can do," Aisha said. "I don't like it, but it makes sense."

"I need to say goodbye to my parents… and Brandon." Stella said, more serious than the girls had ever heard.

They all nodded… Bloom knew they were thinking of their own goodbyes., which was confirmed, when Flora, crying, whispered "Miele…"

But they all took the gems when it was time, all said the words that bound their powers to the stones, all cried when the spell was cast and over.

* * *

The girls went to their various planets to say goodbye… except for Bloom. She had one final errand to run, and she didn't think she really could tell anyone what was happening, not even Roxy. Especially not Roxy! The fairy of animals wasn't a Winx, but she was like Bloom's little sister. Bloom knew if she told, the girl would talk her out of it, and there was no other way to save the universe.

So their last conversation was fun and games, going out to eat at a small Mexican restaurant, then watching movies at Klaus's house while he and Morgana were at the bar, helping people try to drink away the pain of the end of the world. It was when the bar was almost ready to close, about ten minutes before Roxy's parents would return, that Bloom asked. "Hey, Roxy? Would you do me a favor?"

Roxy's eyes lit up. Bloom knew that Roxy would be eager to do this; she was eager to do anything for the Winx Club, wanted to be part of it. But Bloom knew she would never have let the younger girl be part. This latest mission only proved it was two dangerous. "Sure!" she said, and Bloom smiled sadly.

The fire fairy pulled out the small bag of gems from her pocket. "Roxy, I need you to guard these with your life for the next day. Then, I want you to open the bag and scatter the contents over Gardenia, but put a tracking spell on them and keep an eye on them, okay?"

"What are they?" Roxy said.

"Something very, very important. I can't tell you what right now. Just promise me you'll follow my instructions and not open the bag until tomorrow night. Deal?"

"Deal!" Roxy said. Then her eyes narrowed. "Why can't you do it?"

"I've got other plans. Us Winx are going somewhere, but we need these to stay in Gardenia. It's a big job, and we need someone to take care of it."

"I wish I could come with you," Roxy said miserably.

Bloom almost smiled. "Oh Roxy. Trust me. You really don't."

* * *

She was writing to her parents, telling them what was going to happen, when she heard crashing outside. Instinctively, she knew that her time was up. "Magic Winx! Fairix!" she shouted, using the latest transformation they had gained- one with a flowy, princess-like feel and sharp, angled wings.

As she flew up, she saw her five best friends behind her, having arrived back on Earth just in time. The looks on their faces were somber, but accepting. They held hands, and Flora reached out to take Bloom's, so they were a strong line of fairies, standing against the three witches.

"How cute," Icy sneered. "Ready to lose, pixies?"

"We're not going to lose," Bloom said. In her voice was something she could never have described. It was an emotion she had never felt before- something all at once sad, hopeful, ready for anything… something impossibly strong. "We are ready to end you, Trix."

"Just try," said Darcy, and she threw up her hands, which burst with magic. Waves of darkness turned into a screech that filled the air. Down on the ground, humans covered their ears, but despite the horrifying waves, the Winx remained unbroken.

The Trix didn't relent. Icy threw ice shards that stuck in Stella's hair and pierced Musa's leg. Stormy conjured a storm so big that it must have covered all of south California. And the Winx never faltered. "What is going on?" Icy said, staring in disbelief.

Bloom squeezed Flora's hand, and knew that Flora squeezed Stella's, who passed it to Musa, then Aisha, then Tecna. Then, Bloom broke from the group. "We're all dead," she said softly, almost kindly. Then, before the three witches could react, she exploded, her power literally pouring out from each of her pores, uncontrollable and unavoidable.

There were no bodies dropping from the sky, no remnant of the nine girls to fall to Earth. The release of pure power had disintegrated the girls, just as Bloom knew it would.

* * *

Roxy just knew. The moment it happened, the moment she saw that burst of light in the sky, she knew that Bloom and the other Winx had done the unthinkable and killed themselves with the Trix. She didn't cry, as she would have thought she would if anyone had asked her what she would do if this happened. Instead, she went up to her room, ready to do what Bloom had asked of her.

She locked the door to her room, sat down on her bed, and opened the bag. Inside was a note.

_Roxy,_

_If you don't know by now, you need to know that the Trix are gone. Don't worry about them. Don't worry about us… yes, we had to sacrifice ourselves to take care of them, but we aren't gone. We put our souls and magic into these six gems. If my spell is right, the gems' powers will manifest in six girls… at least, I think that's how it works. All my theory is based off the legend of the Gems of Arcelia. I put a book that tells that story under your bed._

_Do what I asked… scatter these gems around the city. Six girls will find them, and then, maybe, we'll get another chance. Take care of us, alright?_

_I have a gift for you, Roxy, and that's the relationship you always wanted: here and now, I'm telling you that you're one of the Winx, and for now, you're the last one left. I'm sorry it had to happen like this._

_With all my well wishes and all my friendship,_

_Bloom._

Roxy set the letter next to her. She didn't allow herself to think of what it meant. Instead, she carefully dumped the gems onto the bed and looked at them. Something seemed… wrong. Which was odd. They all looked exactly the same, right, so what could be the matter?

Then she realized.

She counted the gems. There were nine.

* * *

Author's Note: Welcome to The Guardian Stone! This is a rewrite/reboot of an old story I wrote on the 4kids board called "Stones." Which was very badly written indeed. Luckily, the plot was decent, so after four or five years and a lot more experience, this came to be.

One clarification. The story of the Gems of Arcelia is not mine. It belongs to Akela Victoire, and is in her story (the not surprisingly titled "Gems of Arcelia"). If you haven't already, go read it! And if you have, know that she uses the story differently than I use it. In GoA, it is a true story. In my fic, it is only a legend, and so her characters won't be appearing here. That also accounts for Roxy, who doesn't exist in Akela's story.

Hope you enjoy the story and keep up with it!


	2. Four Years Later

_Chapter Two: Four Years Later_

Sebeka Nathan loved Mondays.

It was, to her, a fresh start. She had never liked the idea of the week beginning on Sunday, and when she learned in Spanish I that in most Spanish-speaking countries, the week started on Monday, she had adopted that as her official system. So Monday was the start of her week, and she always tried to set the tone. Today, she was doing it well. She was early to school, she was wearing brand-new sneakers (green, which was her favorite color), and the sun was rising right in front of her as she walked towards Gardenia Day School.

When she saw the young woman walking about twenty feet in front of her drop something, she hurried and picked it up. It was a rose colored gemstone, probably quartz. "Here," Sebeka said in her loud, clear voice. "You dropped this."

The woman looked at the stone that Sebeka was holding out. She had pink hair that must have been dyed, for her blonde roots were showing. Her face looked tired, though young… like she had seen the entire world before she even finished college. Sebeka guessed she was twenty-five, maybe a little younger, maybe older. Her eyes were violet and sad. "Yeah, I did that on purpose. I don't want it anymore. But I guess it's littering… do you want it?" she asked. Her voice was hopeful at the last bit.

Sebeka looked at the stone again. It gleamed, even though there wasn't yet much light. "Sure," she said, surprised. "Thanks."

"Just keep it safe, okay?" the woman asked. "It's very precious."

"But it's only a rose quartz… and hey! You were about to throw it away!" Sebeka said, confused. But the woman had already begun to walk away.

At the gates of Gardenia Day School, Sebeka caught a glimpse of her friends, Michelle, Nora, Kyle, David, and Addie. "Hey!" she exclaimed, running up to them. "How was your summer?"

"Uneventful," Nora said with a groan. "And full of brother issues." Nora had nine brothers, four older and five younger. "At least now, Jacob, Keenan, Lloyd, and Mark are out of the house. And since Gardenia High School starts two weeks earlier than Gardenia Day, I, the lovely scholarship student, got some time to myself at the end."

"Which she spent developing computer programs," Kyle said jokingly. He was dating Nora, which was definitely a task that required patience and a lot of it: Nora's only true love was a computer.

Nora punched her boyfriend lightly. "I'm trying to develop a film software. If it works, I'll go to this year's International Student Technology Fair for sure."

"Again," Michelle, Sebeka, and Addie said at the same time.

Michelle smiled. "I, for one, just relaxed. Just because I'm smart doesn't mean I don't love me a good summer break."

"What about you, Addie?" said Sebeka.

"Well, I turned eighteen, which means now I can officially and legally change my name… the problem is, if I change it to 'Addie,' I'll be Addie Addison, which is a whole new world of issues." Addie's real first name was Phyllis, but she hated it, so went by a variation of her last name. "Oh! And I got a slight image change."

She turned to face Sebeka head-on, and Sebeka lit up. "Contact lenses! So now your eyes aren't… um…"

"Freaky and pink. Yes, you can say it. I know albino eyes scare people sometimes." Addie's newly-colored dark blue eyes were warm as she laughed at her condition. "And since I'm eighteen, my parents couldn't stop me getting contacts, obviously. Not that I don't hear about it a million times a day, about how I shouldn't be ashamed to be myself, but to be honest, this was more for me than it was for the people who comment on my natural eye color."

"What about you, Sebeka?" Kyle said.

She opened her mouth to answer- uneventful, for the most part, though with a fun trip to the Grand Canyon in July- when the bell rang, signifying the beginning of the first day of school. The group walked in to the building together, only stopping to pick up their class schedules from a table in front of the entrance. Sebeka, Addie, and Michelle, all juniors, compared classes; Nora and Kyle, the sophomores, did the same. David was the only senior in the group, which Sebeka secretly thought was a good thing, as he rarely spoke.

They all went their separate ways, apart from Sebeka and Michelle, who had physics together. As always, they planned to meet up in Gardenia Day School's dining hall for lunch.

And thus, the first day of school began just like always, and the strange woman of earlier was cast to the back of Sebeka's mind.

* * *

Paige had wrapped a ponytail holder around her firey red hair. Her eyes, precisely the color of a blue Crayola crayon, were furrowed in concentration. But her face was alight with a smile, and her cheeks were glowing as she bounced around the gymnasium, blocking Amy White, who currently had the ball.

"Good job, Holmes," Mr. Keaton said. Paige threw him a thumbs up, not even breaking her concentration.

Amy tried to pass the ball off, but Paige intercepted, and dribbled through a plethora of her classmates. When she was close enough and saw an opportunity, she took a chance and hurled the ball at the basket. It went in effortlessly. "Oh yeah!" Paige said.

Mr. Keaton blew the whistle then, and the class filed into the locker rooms. Paige glanced at the analog clock on the wall… well, it was supposed to be a glance, but as usual, the numbers got muddled somewhere between the wall and Paige's brain. "Hey," she said to Amy, "what time is it?"

"Um, it's eight fifty," Amy said with a glance. "You've got time to take a quick shower, if you can get to one of the stalls fairly quickly."

"Thanks, Amy," Paige said gratefully. She had no clue what she'd do without her best friend, who, along with her tutor, was one of the few people who took her dyscalculia seriously. It was something that Paige appreciated. Dyslexia, which Paige also had, was a big deal, because she couldn't read easily, and reading was important. But few people realized how much dyscalculia affected a girl's daily life. Paige had trouble reading clocks, couldn't remember left from right without looking down to see which hand made the "L," and had no depth perception (which was a huge pain when you were driving. Or playing basketball, for that matter- scoring today had been lucky). Put Paige in an actual math class, and she was even worse. It was why a tutor came daily over from Gardenia Day, where the motto was "Our Standards are Higher," and many a GHS student joked that someone messed it up and "standards" was supposed to read "egos." But Sebeka, Paige's tutor, was pretty cool. Cool enough to come to GHS for an hour even when Gardenia Day was still on summer break, even.

She took a shower that lasted maybe five minutes (she really, literally, couldn't tell, but she knew it was quick), then slipped into her normal clothes with a sigh. She loved Gym class, but it was awful having it first period. There wasn't anything else to look forward to in the day, just a bunch of classes that she wasn't good at. She reached into her pocket at that thought and withdrew her lucky stone, a perfectly round and smooth piece of rose quartz. She had found it three years ago, on the day of her first track meet, and kept it. It soothed her, helped her think, cleared her head. Maybe it was stupid, but when she had the stone with her, it felt like some of the disconnection between the outside world and her vanished. It was like she could understand things better. Which was how she had taken to carrying it even when she wasn't doing track meets.

The bell rang, and with a little bit of difficulty (again, dyscalculia), Paige tied her tennis shoes. Then, she quickly grabbed her books and headed out the door… which as she pushed open, knocked into someone. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" Paige exclaimed.

The girl rubbed her head, and though her head was still ducked, Paige recognized the girl from the blue hair alone. Ava Morgenstern.

The hurt senior looked up, and hate was in her overly made-up eyes. "Watch it, freshie."

"I'm a sophomore."

Paige had spoken before thinking, and Ava now only looked more pissed. "Yeah, well you're gonna be an infant if you bump into me again, kid, cause whatever I do to you then'll make you go back to diapers. Now, get out."

Paige nodded and scrambled into the hallways. Sometimes, she'd give anything to be smart… well, she was pretty smart… to not have learning disabilities. Or to have rich parents. One of the two, because that would get her into Gardenia Day, and she would bet anything that the kids there didn't have to go through this crap.

* * *

"Is that girl walking towards us?"

Sebeka looked up from her lunch, only to see a small blonde that did, in fact, seem to be heading in their direction. "Looks like it. Who's she?"

Nora crunched a piece of celery. "No clue. I don't think I've ever seen her before."

Michelle glanced at the girl. "She's probably new. Or a freshman."

"No," said Addie. "She's not. That's Violet Snow. She's a sophomore this year. Talks about as much as David does, maybe a little bit more, but it's not because she's the strong, silent type. She's painfully shy, actually. Weird that she'd be coming here. She normally eats in the library."

"Geez, Addie," Nora said. "Do you know everyone or something?"

Addie shrugged. "Remember when I was in the library over lunch for like two weeks straight last year, studying for the SATs? Well, I saw her, and invited her to sit with us. She didn't say a word, just shook her head. Maybe she's cashing in now?"

The group grew silent as Violet approached the table. When she got within a foot, she smiled at Addie. "Hey, Addie," she said in a voice was decidedly not-shy… in fact, it was clear and confident. "Someone told me to go talk to you."

"Yeah?" Addie said. "Who?"

For a moment, Violet faltered, then she regained her easy smile. "Nobody you'd know," she said. "Anyway, I came to ask you for homework help. Can you tutor me?"

"Why me? I failed a year. And Nora or Sebeka would definitely be more qualified, they've both been tutors before."

"It has to be you," Violet said. She reached into her purse and pulled something out. She let it sit in her hand where the entire lunch table could see it, and rubbed it with her thumb. "Okay?"

"Hey," Sebeka said. "Is that a chunk of rose quartz? Did you get that from a lady with pink hair?"

"No," Violet said. "I mean, yes it is rose quartz. But I found it. Does it matter?"

Sebeka shrugged. "I just got a chunk that looks about the same from a woman earlier today. I was curious."

Violet turned to Addie. "If you decide you'll tutor me, I'll be over with Gabriella and Kai-lan. See you later, Addie."

As soon as the blonde left, Addie let out a low whistle. "Gabriella, as in Gabriella Henry? Violet's been climbing the social ladder. Pretty quickly, too. I'm kind of surprised."

"She's pretty enough," Nora said. "It's perfectly logical."

The bell rang, and the group dumped out the remaining food from their lunch trays and boxes. Addie slid her arm around Sebeka's shoulders. "We've got English together next, right, before you go off for tutoring duty? Let's walk together."

Sebeka shook Addie's arm off playfully. "Only if you get the heck off of me before people start thinking we're a couple."

"Oh, but you love me secretly," Addie said jokingly and put her arm right back around Sebeka.

The two were halfway to the English class when Addie asked, "So, a lady gave you a chunk of quartz that looks exactly like Violet's, huh?"

Sebeka started. "Um, yeah. But as Violet so eloquently said… does it matter?"

"Yes. Yes, it does," Addie said, reaching into her pocket. She pulled something out. "You see," she said as she opened her hand, "I've got one too, and that's why Violet was trying to talk to me."

* * *

Author's Note: So! We know at least four of the characters have gems. But the bigger question is whose gems do they have? Are all of them magical, or are some just normal quartz? I'd love to hear everyone's predictions! And if there's a character who doesn't have a gem that we know of, is there anyone you suspect might have one?

Hope you're enjoying the story!


	3. Things That Don't Exist

_Chapter Three: Things That Don't Exist_

The woman with the pink hair sighed as she walked into her small apartment. It had taken four years, but she had finally done it- she had finally given away all nine of the stones.

Bloom had told Roxy to just plant the gems all over Gardenia, but once the young woman knew that the souls of her best friends and their worst enemies were inside the gems, she couldn't just leave them on the side of the road! So she chose carefully, putting them in situations where a girl who seemed kind would find them. All nine of them… the girls had to be _kind. _For the Winx, because they would want a kind person to be reborn in. For the Trix, because maybe a girl who was very good could hold out against the perfidious Trix.

It had taken her four years to get rid of all nine gems, and yes, she got a little sloppy with the last one, dropping it when she saw the girl behind her and saying "if she tries to return it to me, she's good; if not, she isn't." But it worked, and now the fairy of animals was rid of it. And the girl seemed nice enough.

Roxy never figured out who was who. Of course, she had certain favorites when she picked… like the dark-skinned diva with pretty brown hair was the girl she would have picked to manifest Stella, she could perfectly imagine Aisha in the sporty girl with the small smile, and maybe it was just the long white hair, but there was one girl who seemed so strong, that if Roxy had a choice, she wouldn't have given Icy to anyone else.

She looked in a mirror. Her blonde roots were starting to show, and her eyes that changed color were currently a serene and beautiful violet. There were a couple wrinkles, she noticed. She didn't so much expect to see them there at twenty-four, but they were there. Well, she had been forced to grow up fast as the guardian of the souls of nine people. It was a tough job.

There was still so much to do, even now that she had given all of the gems away. She had to let the girls discover the secret of the gems- actually, _Roxy _had to discover the secret of the gems, as she had no idea how they would manifest. For all she knew, they wouldn't do a thing until the girls she gave them to grew up and had daughters, and they would be genuine Winx reincarnations. Or, in a horrible but likely story, what if the Winx took over the girls, erasing all traces of their original personality?

Roxy shuddered. She hoped that whatever happened was quick and ethical. She didn't want to take anyone away.

But whatever happened, whatever she had set into motion, needed to be done. And at this point, it was too late to change anything. All Roxy Klaus could do was wait.

* * *

"You have a gemstone too?" Sebeka said, and Phyllis "Addie" Addison nodded. She let her hand close over the small spherical piece of quartz that she had found sitting on her doorstep next to the newspaper one morning a year ago. She had only kept it because there was something so mysterious about it that it seemed wrong to get rid of it. And when the odd things started happening, she knew something was seriously crazy in Quartzland.

"I've had it since last year," Addie told Sebeka. "I found it. And ever since then, things have started to change. Not just with me… with other things. Have you noticed that yet?"

"Wait. I'm confused. Things have been changing since you got the gem? So, it's lucky?" said Sebeka.

Addie shook her head. Sebeka, like her, was very smart. She was known for being smart. But the difference between Addie and Sebeka was that Addie was both weird and smart, while Sebeka was really just smart. Maybe with a hint of funny thrown in. Addie had thoughts and worries and beliefs that the other girl would never understand. It was why, although they were friends, Nora was Sebeka's best friend, not Addie. "I don't think it's lucky," she said. "I think… it's magic."

"Magic doesn't exist," Sebeka said automatically.

Addie said, "Look at four, five, six years ago. The fairies? Remember?"

"That was different," Sebeka said. "See, those were actual fairies. They came from planets far away, which is perfectly normal, really, we've just been waiting to make contact with intelligent life. They have different capacities than we do."

"But there are Earth fairies too."

"An entirely different species, passed on genetically. We definitely aren't fairies, Addie."

"I know we aren't!" Addie was getting frustrated now, really. "But what if these are fairy stones? My gem does all these crazy, impossible things! It moved a group of clouds the other day when it was getting ready to rain and I didn't want it to!"

Sebeka opened her mouth as if to protest, then narrowed her eyes. "I noticed that those clouds moved… completely against the wind, at that. You're trying to say that was you?"

The warning bell chimed, and the girls realized they were still a while away from their English class. There was no time to talk as they raced towards the classroom, running in and getting seated just as the late bell began to ring. Addie had no clue what Sebeka thought. If she was being sarcastic at the end… or if she was starting to believe.

She rubbed the quartz piece that was hers and felt a strong sense of _wait-and-see_. Comforted, she smiled. The gem recently had started to communicate by sending her feelings, which in the end was how she knew it was magical.

* * *

_That was good!_ said the gemstone inside Violet's mind. _Be proud of yourself. That was the least shy I've ever known you to be._

Violet Rae Snow smiled a little and thought back, _But in the end, it still didn't work. I don't think Addie has a gemstone, she didn't react at all when I took mine out. The other girl though…_

_That's Sebeka. You know that, you've heard her name spoken before. I feel it in the back of your mind. _

_Well, I don't remember everything! You can dig around in my subconscious better than I can!_

If the gem was a person and not a magical stone that fed Violet instructions on how to break out of her shell, the young girl would probably have seen it roll its eyes. _Anyway… you're right. Sebeka is definitely in possession of a stone. However, not all the stones have good magic, Violet. There were some very dangerous girls trapped with us, girls who tried to destroy the world._

_Wait, you think Sebeka has a gem that's… evil?_

_I'm saying it's a possibility. Addie looks like someone I used to know, vaguely. I trust her… I see how my friend could pick her. But Sebeka doesn't seem right to me. Stay away from her until you're more powerful, okay, Vi?_

Violet nodded, not thinking, and Gabriella looked at her quizzically. "Violet? What are you nodding about?"

"Oh, just thinking to myself," Violet said. "Sorry."

* * *

The bell rang, signifying the end of English, and only two more class periods in the Gardenia Day School school day. Without saying a word to Addie, Sebeka left the room and headed for the front door, where she would catch a van with the other Gardenia Day students and go across town to the public high school.

She had been tutoring a girl named Paige this year, and Paige was a lot better than the kid she tutored last year, Derek Brown, who never did his homework and always kept trying to peek up her uniform skirt. Not that Paige didn't frustrate Sebeka too… the sophomore had not just one learning disability, but two. Helping her understand her schoolwork was a challenge.

As the van pulled into Gardenia High School, the tutors all went their separate ways, each heading towards the class that the tutored students had. Sebeka knew the route to Paige's math class by now. It was upstairs, in a different direction than most of the tutors were heading, in the freshman class wing… Paige had flunked math last year. Sebeka didn't mind. It gave her time to think, being alone.

"Hi," a voice said, though, as soon as she was out of sight of the rest of the Gardenia Day group.

Sebeka sighed. She supposed thinking would have to wait. "Hi," she said back, looking at the speaker.

It was a blonde girl, a pretty girl. Her hair was the color of wheat, long and luxurious, with a small braid down the side to make he style look a little prettier. Her lips were full, her eyes large and icy blue. She was beautiful, and a little exotic, like she wasn't fully from around Gardenia. The girl's eyes were determined, and she clutched something in her hand. "You have something you shouldn't have," she said.

Sebeka frowned. "Excuse me?"

"Give me your gem!" the girl cried, and lifted the hand that held something… now it was out in the open, another gem, exactly the same as the others three that Sebeka had seen that day. _What the hell have I gotten myself into? _the smart girl thought desperately. Her thought was only intensified when a beam of purple light shot from the gem… or was it the girl's hand? Sebeka couldn't tell, didn't want to tell, only dodged the beam. It shot right into a wall, which it scorched slightly before the energy disintegrated.

"What the heck?" Sebeka said. "What was that? Who are you?"

"I can't let you have that gem!" said the girl in response, throwing another beam of light.

This time, Sebeka didn't think. Instead, she threw her arm out, and watched a shield of red and orange blossom from her fingertips. As soon as the energy beam touched it, it bounced in another direction, missing both girls altogether. Sebeka sucked in air. "Did… did I just do that?" she said.

The other girl looked at Sebeka for a long second. "Too late," she said, and she ran in the opposite direction.

Sebeka walked to Paige's classroom in a daze. What had just happened. Who was that girl? Was that really magic?

What had she allowed herself to be sucked into?

* * *

Author's Note: Someone called Sebeka "suh-BECK-uh," like it rhymed with "Rebecca." Just so you know, Sebeka is pronounced "suh-BEE-kuh" for the intents of this story. All the other names you have seen should be perfectly pronounceable! :)


	4. Learning to Believe

_Chapter Four: Learning to Believe_

It was not dark, not light, not cold, not warm, all at once, all of this at first. But as time went on, it got better.

She still didn't have a body. She still couldn't feel. But she learned how to think, how to have emotions, and how to exist. She could sense things sometimes. And her magic grew to a level where even though she had no body to channel it into, she could use it a little bit.

Bloom's spirit knew that it was the last stone to be taken out of the bag. She knew Roxy was tired of picking specific girls, and Bloom would have shaken her head, had she had one. Roxy, as always, was trying too hard to please. This time, she was doing it for people who technically didn't exist anymore.

Even though Roxy's last choice was a haphazard one, when Bloom's stone rested in the hands of seventeen year old Sebeka Nathan, the soul of the fairy knew it was a good decision. Sebeka wasn't much like Bloom- she was smarter, more skeptical, less enthusiastic, with a powerful mind that could do anything it wanted to do. But Bloom liked that. If she had been cared for by someone exactly like her, she would worry for her safety a little. The fairy of the Dragon Flame had a habit of getting people into messes.

And now that Sebeka held Bloom's spirit, the real challenge would begin. Picking out who was who. Bloom immediately considered that the girl who had attacked Sebeka was one of the Trix Coven, but she couldn't be sure. After all, for some reason, Bloom's senses couldn't tell who was who, so she had reason to believe that none of the other girls could either. Maybe the girl who attacked held Aisha's spirit- the fairy of waves was impulsive, and if she had thought that maybe Sebeka could hold a Trix, there was no question that the dark-skinned (could she still say that, now that they didn't have bodies?) girl would strike first and ask questions later.

Bloom felt a little bit happy. Yes, she had hoped that the Spell of Arcelia would have worked differently and maybe given her a body by now. But this was okay. This was better than death. It was a new beginning.

* * *

"You're distracted," Paige said to Sebeka. The older girl twisted a small golden ring inlaid with amethysts on her pinky finger. Paige had never seen her tutor fidget before. "Did you have a bad first day?"

"No. It was just… stressful," Sebeka said.

"I'm sorry," Paige said. "Do you want to not do anything today? I've got some homework. I can work on that and ask you if I have an issue."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Paige said. "I think I've got this. The FOIL method. First out inner last. I can remember that easily enough."

"Remember to double check your numbers and make sure you aren't reading them wrong at the end of every problem," Sebeka said, but she already sounded less invested in the tutoring. Paige wondered what was going on. Sebeka didn't seem the type to have a bad first day of school. She was the kind of girl who liked learning, who found classes easy and fun. What could go wrong?

She stared at the page in front of her and for a moment, felt ashamed. This page was review of concepts that students learned in eighth grade. Paige was a sophomore, and she was doing middle school stuff. It was depressing. She sighed and looked at the first problem. Not too difficult. Still, the problem seemed to mock her.

(1 + x)(3 + 2x)

She knew how to solve it. _First, out, in, last. First, out, in, last,_ she chanted inside her mind. But something about numbers always flicked her brain's panic switch on, and suddenly the math problem looked like quantum physics.

Desperately, she reached into her pocket and rubbed her lucky stone. Immediately, she began to calm down… her brain began to clear… and the problem looked like it was tough, but solvable. Paige's pencil traced brackets around the numbers in the order she was supposed to work with them. _3... Then 2x… 3x… 2x__2__. Combine like terms… so I'm working with 3, 5x, and 2x__2__..._

"Hey, Sebeka, can you check this?" Paige asked.

The tutor looked at Paige's sheet of scrap paper. "(3 + 5x + 2x2). Great job, that's right! That's the quickest I've ever seen you solve a problem before! You're definitely improving!"

Paige smiled and rubbed her gemstone again, this time not for luck or for clarification, but just to say thanks.

* * *

The day ended, and Sebeka barely noticed. It was in a daze that she rode the bus home, in a daze that she handed her mother, Berry Nathan, the new forms for the beginning of the school year that needed to be signed, in a daze that she went to her room and stared at her hands for a good five minutes.

_What the hell did I do?_

_No, wait. I didn't do that. The gem did! _

She took her hunk of quartz out from her book bag and set it on her skirt, where it contrasted amazingly with the blue and gold plaid. It was out of place, completely out of place. A perfect metaphor of how it fit into her life. It just… didn't.

She reached out and touched it. Like she would expect a gem to be, it was cold to the touch. But… there was something else there, like a nagging at the back of her mind. She forced herself to focus. She forced herself to try to find out what was going on…

…_beka? Sebeka? Sebeka? Can you hear me?_

_WHOA!_

She quickly took her hand off the stone and stood up, so that the quartz crystal rolled off her lap and onto the hardwood floor of her second story room with a small thunk.

For a moment, it was silent. Sebeka stared at the gemstone disbelievingly. Then, slowly, she sat down on the floor and stretched out her pointer finger so she was just _barely _touching the stone. She braced herself for the gem to start talking again. But nothing happened.

She stood up and backed slowly away from the talking piece of quartz. Climbing back onto her bed, she reached under a forest green pillow that matched her eyes and pulled out her laptop. She unlocked it and opened Google Chrome (it was her browser of choice. She never understood people who used IE) and typed "talking gemstones" into the search bar. Okay, so it was vague, but she was a little bit freaked out.

The first page was all crap about the meaning of different gems, or using gems to get to heaven or something, nothing. Then there was some New Age crap about communicating with stones. Sebeka rolled her eyes. Apparently, the internet wasn't going to help.

She could talk to Addie.

Quickly, she pulled up a new tab with her Facebook. Looking down at the chat, she saw that Addie was indeed online. She created a chat and typed, _Let's say I believe that the stones have powers. What then?_

There was a reply within a few seconds. _That depends on how much magic you believe in._

Sebeka thought hard for about a minute. Then, she decided to put her complete trust in Addie. _Some shield thing shot out of my hands. And then my gemstone started talking to be me._

A minute passed. Then the chat sound was made. Sebeka looked at Addie's response. _You should come over to my house._

_Okay._

Sebeka closed her laptop and grabbed a tissue from the flowery box on her nightstand. Carefully, she picked the gem off from the floor and placed it into her purse. She changed from her white uniform shirt, blue vest, and plaid skirt into a green tank top and skirt and her favorite green boots (the tongue looked like a leaf!), then grabbed her bag and headed downstairs. Berry sat at the table in the dining room filling out forms. "I'm going out!" Sebeka said. Her mother didn't answer.

The seventeen year old hopped on her scooter. Addie's house was too far away to walk to, but scootering, she could get there in about ten minutes. She was very cautious not to let the gem fall out of her purse.

She pulled into the Addisons' driveway; she parked her scooter. Then, she walked up to the door and knocked, not too loudly.

Dr. James Addison, Addie's father, answered. "Miss Nathan," he said. "Good to see you. Are you here to see Phyllis?"

Sebeka discreetly bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Yes, sir," she responded.

Dr. Addison opened the door. "She's upstairs in her room. You know where it is. Are Nora and Michelle coming over too? Another girl already came, so I figure it must be a study session."

"I'm not sure, Dr. Addison," Sebeka said, frowning. _Who's the other girl?_

Sebeka stepped into the house's grand entrance, with its marble floors and cream colored walls that were so familiar. A mahogany staircase covered most of the left side of the hall, and it was up these stairs that Sebeka walked up. Once on the second floor, she took a left and walked to the end of the hallway to find another staircase, which she also climbed. This staircase ended in a door, which she opened to find herself in the spacious attic of the Addison home- Addie's room.

Sitting on the floor, on top of Addie's shag rug, were Addie and Violet. The two were laughing and talking.

Sebeka dropped her bag, and the girls looked at her. "Hi," Sebeka said.

Violet ducked her head, but Addie smiled and waved Sebeka over. "Hey, Sebeka!" she said. "Come on, we were waiting for you! Did you bring your gem?"

"Yeah." Sebeka sat down on the comfortable rug and pulled the tissue out of her purse. Carefully, she dumped the small quartz crystal onto the floor, right next to two identical stones. "Hey, wait. Aren't we going to get them confused? They all look alike."

"Violet and I tested that already. Here, I'll show you. Close your eyes." Sebeka obeyed, and ten seconds later, Addie commanded "Now open them. And pick your gem."

Sebeka stared at the three identical gems, but her gaze kept going to the one in the middle. It was like it was pulling to her. Like it was a missing part of her. She reached her hand out to retrieve it from the two others, and as she took it, warmth spread over her, like a fire. Shocked, she dropped the piece of rose quartz, and it fell snugly into the shag carpet.

Addie was smiling smugly. "Told you. Now, try to pick up one of the others."

Easy. Sebeka reached down and picked _both _of them up, which turned out to be a massively bad idea. Sensation overwhelmed her. It was powerful… but it was also wrong somehow. She set the gems down and as the weird energy subsided, she felt much, much better.

Violet snatched one of the stones up. "Don't touch my gem again," she snapped.

Addie raised one eyebrow. "Okay, so it was uncomfortable," she said. "I felt it too. It felt wrong when Sebeka held it. But it wasn't anything to be rude over."

Violet folded her hands into a position like she was praying, only with her piece of quartz inside. "My gem told me not to let anyone touch it. It isn't me who doesn't like it. It's the stone itself. I'm very sorry I got mad at you, Sebeka."

"It's fine," Sebeka said, and she meant it. She hadn't had the gem for a day, and it was already making her do things she wouldn't ordinarily do. She was actually talking seriously about magic with two other girls! She had thrown up a shield! She had been attacked!

Addie picked up her gem and took a deep breath. "Now that I know you girls are getting used to magic, I have something to show you." The albino girl placed one pale hand over her piece of quartz, waved it clockwise once, and the stone began to glow faintly, like a small pink light.

"Whoa," Violet said. "How did you learn to do that?"

Addie shrugged. "It just came to me. You focus your energy into the gem and just let the magic flow through it. Oh! Wait!" She quickly rose, went over to her desk, and took a leather book off of it. "I bought this blank book to write spells and stuff in. You know, a Book of Shadows."

"A what?" Violet asked. "That doesn't sound very nice."

"Well, we all have magic now. And as Sebeka brought up, we can't be fairies… that's genetic. So I figured, we must be witches. I even thought maybe we could call ourselves the Snowdrop Coven." She blushed a little, smiled. "Because of the scientific explanation of how that herb may have been used to bring on hallucinations, making the people who met the real Circe believe they were turned into pigs, when they may not have really been. We're smart, relatively skeptic people who have been brought into a magic world. I figure it makes a certain sense of poetic irony."

The two other girls looked at each other. "Well, I guess being a coven wouldn't hurt," Sebeka said. Violet nodded her agreement.

Addie fist pumped. "Awesome! I hereby declare us the Snowdrop Coven. And our first order of business is to find the pink haired woman that gave Sebeka her gem. All in favor?"

And the three girls raised their hands all at once- a motion that truly set the beginning into motion.


	5. Finding a Way

_Chapter Five: Finding A Way_

Sky hadn't left Eraklyon since the day Bloom died. On that day, he had thrown himself completely into his royal duties, becoming the fairest and most dedicated monarch that the realm had ever seen. He was, in Earth terms, a workaholic, but that was because his job was the only thing distracting him from the death of his true love.

Today was special. Yesterday, Roxy had called him, telling him something that she had kept for so long, something that he wouldn't have dared to believe if she hadn't let him see the note explaining it in Bloom's left-slanted hand. His one true love was alive somewhere, inside a gemstone, being cared for by one of nine teenage girls. She may, even, have manifested in one of those girls.

He had to find her. Now that he knew she was still out there, Sky couldn't be expected to sit and concentrate on royal duties when he could be looking for Bloom. Maybe she wouldn't look like the girl he knew. Maybe she wouldn't remember him. But here he was in Gardenia, and he was ready to find whoever Bloom was. Find her, and take her back home.

* * *

Paige looked down at her finished homework, then out of her window. The sun was setting- it had taken her hours to complete the stack of math, English, science, social studies, and German that her teachers had assigned to her. But in the end, she still had a little time to get outside and just run, run, run.

She slipped her tennis shoes on , grabbed her iPod, stuck the headphones in her ears. Then, she left the house, running before she even was on the sidewalk.

The feeling, the speed- as always, it was amazing, something that Paige could actually do right for a change! Rap music hammered into her brain and she smiled. She wasn't much for most rap, but it helped her run (the beat was killer), so she had a whole play list queued full of some of the least offensive songs she could find. With the music playing, the sun setting and turning the sky a beautiful shade of red, and the pavement under her feet, Paige felt like nothing could be better.

She was about a mile out, running past the abandoned building that used to be some big famous pet shop when she saw Caitlin Love, a girl in her math class, running up to her and talking. Paige took out her earbuds; she could still hear the music, loud and pounding, even as she threw them over her shoulder. "Hi, Caitlin," she said. "Sorry, I didn't hear what you were saying."

Caitlin laughed. "Listening to music way too loud, Paige? I asked if you remembered what our homework was."

"FOIL method. Page twenty-seven. All problems. Hey, what are you doing out here if you're trying to find out about homework?"

"Um… well… I don't know. Molly Nakamura, the Art Club president, wanted to meet me out here for some reason. Maybe she needs a model or something. She does a lot of photography. And wrecked buildings make a really cool backdrop."

Paige looked up at the building again. It certainly was wrecked, like a huge storm had hit right over it. "I think it probably got the worst of that apocalypse scare four years ago."

"Probably," Caitlin agreed. "It certainly looks really cool now. Wanna stick around with me and see what Molly wants?"

Paige shook her head. "I've got some running to do. Sorry."

"Well then," Caitlin said, pushing a few locks of black hair behind her ear. Paige noticed a few strands caught in the hinge of her sapphire-blue glasses frames. "Maybe I'll talk with you later? We should hang out sometimes."

Paige smiled. No, she beamed. Her friends were all in different classes now, sophomore classes, and it would be nice to have some people she saw on a daily basis who she enjoyed the company of. "That would be awesome, Caitlin. Um… I don't have paper on me… I'll give you my cell number tomorrow in class, okay?"

"Sounds good," said Caitlin. "Catch you tomorrow, Paige."

Paige waved a good bye, stuck her earbuds back in her ears, and began to run again. This time, she barely needed the music. She felt great.

* * *

"He's gone."

That was the word all over the palace, and at first, the Captain of the Royal Guard thought it was just a rumor. His Majesty King Skeylling Dmitri Vande Casteele hadn't even been to the palace _gardens_ since the death of his fiancée. But when he found an officially sealed letter from the king himself laying on the desk in his office, he knew that all the tales were true. Sighing, he opened it.

_Brandon,_ the letter began, and the Captain was immediately shocked. Another thing the King hadn't done since Bloom and the others had died was address the Captain by his first name, as a friend. Furrowing his brow, Brandon read on.

_I have received intelligence that through certain spells that I was unaware of, Bloom, Stella, and the rest of the Winx Club remain alive in some state. Though trapped in the form of gemstones and cared for by bumbling Earth teenagers, they remain in the universe, and reachable. As this was the information I needed to finally break free of my grief and pursue my own desires, you can likely guess that I have set off for Earth._

_I assume that you want to follow me and find Stella in her "sleeping" form. I know how much the heir to the Solarian throne meant to you, and so I grant you permission to take a vacation and come with me to Earth for a week, as friends. If our mission takes longer than that- or if you refuse this vacation- I will order you to assume your former status as my protector and squire. _

_I will be staying in our old apartment. I expect you in two days or less._

_Writing as a friend, not as your king,_

_Sky._

Brandon dropped the letter. No. No, he didn't want to go to Earth. That was the planet that caused him all of his pain. If that stupid planet had never existed, Stella wouldn't be dead.

Of course, the letter said she wasn't, but Brandon didn't believe that for an instant. He hadn't believed him when the little Linphean girl Miele came up to him at the Winx's joint funeral and whispered "They're not really dead, you know." And when a group of Alfea students started a church- a cult, really- that preached that the entire club lived on as new, godly beings, he dismissed that too. He never imagined the King would get caught up in this.

He thought about refusing, but without Bloom, Sky had become fair, which wasn't the same as merciful. The punishment for disobeying a direct order was death. And though he wished to join Stella wherever she was, he doubted that the princess would speak to him if he didn't stand by his best friend, for better or for worse.

Brandon rolled his eyes and left his office. Taney, his second in command and the only fairy on the force, stood respectfully, as if waiting to be allowed to speak. He nodded at her, and she immediately jumped in with, "Did you hear about His Majesty? Is it true, Captain? Do you know?"

"It's true. He's gone off the planet entirely, and has requested that I meet him there. Taney, you're in charge of the Guard until I return. Do as I would. Clear?"

She snapped a salute. "Clear, Captain. Wait, is that my title now?"

"Go by whatever you want while I'm gone, Taney."

And as he headed for the royal transportation docks, he laughed. He could hear the fairy of swordsmanship muttering to herself, trying to figure out the way that her inferiors would address her.

* * *

_You let her touch me!_

Violet cringed. "I'm sorry," she whispered. She could have just thought the words, but she wasn't so fond of communicating with her mind, and nobody else was in the room. Actually, nobody else was in the house. Violet's parents, Corinne and Atticus, were taking a twenty-fifth honeymoon to Europe for a month in honor of Corrine's latest bestseller. Violet didn't mind. The better to be alone.

_I'm not mad. Actually, I noticed something about her. She's not a witch._

"She isn't?"

_No. And did you notice how quickly she dropped me? And Addie's gem? I think I was right, Violet. I think Sebeka is something sinister, or at least her gem is. What if her gem is actually a decoy?_

Violet gulped. She had noticed that. She had noticed other things, too, like how high and mighty the girl was, with her pretty face and blood-red hair and smug smile. "Could she still do magic if her gem was a decoy?"

_Oh, yes. In fact, if she's left to work magic, she'll only get more powerful. And Violet, for the sake of the universe, you can't let that happen!_

* * *

Molly Nakamura was running late.

She didn't blame herself. She blamed her alter ego, which had stupid crazy amounts of creative energy. Within the last couple years she had become energy bipolar or something. There would be periods where she didn't want to do anything, and then there would be periods (mostly when she was at home, in her room, alone) when she was just so active!

She had decided to choreograph a bunch of dances to her absolute favorite songs when she got home from Art Club. She spent hours and hours just dancing nonstop to the beat of some of her favorite music, while her older sister Aileen pounded on the walls, trying to get her to quiet down. But she didn't. She didn't stop at all until she remembered that she had wanted to take pictures of Caitlin Love around sunset and was supposed to meet the girl.

_Damn it damn it damn it._

She picked her camera off of her desk, then went to the remodeled toy box where she now kept props. Caitlin Love had caught Molly's eye for her slim figure and eccentric, natural look- she never wore shoes, most of her clothes were slouchy and hand-stitched, and her curly black hair was always a mess, even if it still managed to look great against her medium-toned skin. Molly wanted to do a sort of "urban fairy" shoot with the freshman… another idea that had come to her in her room. There was an abandoned peach-painted building in the middle of downtown that was only half standing. Rubble still remained around it, in the back, and Molly could just picture wispy Caitlin doing a magic-themed pose set there.

She took from her prop chest her gemstone collection. She had found or bought quite a few, some of them quite large, and she hoped they would add a much needed natural sparkle to the pictures. Then, she raced out the door, almost bumping into Aileen, jumped into her old beat-up Saturn, and headed for downtown Gardenia.

* * *

"Sky, this is not what I had in mind when I decided to tell you about the stones."

"The Gems of Arcelia, you said."

Roxy rolled her eyes. "No, I said that the spell bloom cast was based on the one cast in the Gems of Arcelia legend. I'm actually calling these the Guardian Stones. Got it?"

The king of Eraklyon didn't even blink. "Why did you tell me Bloom was still alive if not so I could find her and save her and marry her?"

"I told you so you could finally have some closure! Don't even think about finding Bloom! For one, that's my job. For two, these girls… all of them are more than ten years younger than you, they have families here on Earth, they can't just zip off to another planet and be your queen."

Sky snorted. "It makes no difference to me. If Bloom is in there somewhere, she will be happy to be home again."

The young woman stared at the king in disbelief. Back when Bloom was alive, she thought that he was the perfect boy. He was kind, he was caring, he was romantic, he was royalty. She had even had a small crush on him! But now, she saw through him. He was possessive and selfish- he didn't care about the girls at all, only about his own happiness. "Sky," she said. "Grow up. And while you're at it, leave my apartment. Now."

Behind her, she felt Artu approach and growl softly. Sky noticed too, and took a step back. But he didn't leave quietly. As he started out the door, he said, "I will not leave until I have Bloom, Roxy."

The woman's eyes gleamed amber, as they always did when she was angry. "Well then Sky, you're going to be here for a while."


	6. Motion

_Chapter Six: Motion_

"I don't think this is a good idea," Violet said nervously, wringing her hands.

The girls of Snowdrop Coven sat in a circle, each touching their personal gem, which made a smaller circle in the center. Sebeka's face was furrowed in concentration; Violet's was nervous, and her blonde hair was hanging like a veil in front of her face. Addie shrugged. "Have any better ideas? It's been a week, and walking around Gardenia didn't get us to the pink-haired woman. I know both you and Sebeka have been talking to your gems. So I figure, if we ask them, maybe they'll tell us?"

Addie didn't miss the glance that Violet shot Sebeka. She had been shooting the older girl glances like that all week, at school, and whenever the coven met to walk around Gardenia. And especially whenever magic was mentioned. The white-haired coven leader made a mental note to ask Violet about it after the meeting.

For now, though, she just pushed her hand onto her gem a little harder. "Now," she instructed, "we will each ask our gemstone who the woman with the pink hair is."

Sebeka snapped her head up. "I already did," she said.

"So the gem won't tell you?"

"No, it did. The pink haired woman is named Roxy Klaus, and my gem says we need to go to her. Now."

* * *

The three girls all looked at each other, as if to say "What now?"

Sebeka sighed. _Nothing would ever get done around here if not for me, _she thought, and she pushed past Addie and knocked on the door of the apartment.

She could hear a dog barking, and someone scuttling, trying to get to the door. Then, the knob turned, and the door opened, and Sebeka was face to face with Roxy, the pink haired woman.

The woman looked shocked to see three girls standing outside her apartment. She blinked, as if she couldn't quite believe it. Sebeka decided the best thing to do would be to introduce the girls. "Hello," she said formally. "My name is Sebeka Nathan. And these are my friends, Addie Addison, and Violet Snow."

"Um… oh… ah… hi," said Roxy. She was still looking flustered, but she took a step back. "Err, come in."

Sebeka stepped into the apartment, and the other two girls followed, though Sebeka heard Violet whisper "What if this is a trap? What if the pink haired woman is going to kill us?"

Roxy motioned to a sofa. "Have a seat," she said. "I guess you're here about the gemstones, huh?"

"Yes, ma'am," Sebeka said.

"How much do you know?" Roxy said.

Sebeka opened her mouth to answer, but it was Addie who responded. "We know that these gems give us special powers. I can make my gemstone glow, and I get emotions from it. Violet and Sebeka are more powerful, it seems. At first I thought it was because of time- Violet got her gem about six months before I got mine- but Sebeka got hers last week, if you remember. They both can actually talk to their gemstones, plus Violet seems to feel things a lot stronger than she used to, and Sebeka can create a glowing orange shield at will."

Roxy nodded. "Very observant. Yes, the gems have special powers. Or rather… the gems are normal. It's the people inside them who have powers."

Sebeka stared at Roxy. If she had been paying attention to her coven mates, she would have seen that they had very similar reactions. "What did you just say?" Addie managed to choke out.

Roxy took a deep breath. "Four years ago, six fairies called the Winx Club sacrificed their bodies to save the universe. They transplanted their souls and powers into six crystals, which they gave to me and instructed me to give to six girls, so that the girls would have their spirits and powers, so the Winx would not truly die."

"So there's six of us?" Addie said.

Roxy shook her head. "No. The villains that the Winx fought, the Trix, found out somehow about what the Winx had done. They too placed their souls and powers in crystals, and mixed them into the bag with the others. There are nine girls, nine crystals. Three of them are evil."

A shiver ran through Sebeka's spine, and she couldn't hold it in. "So… three, nine, that's a one in three chance."

"So one of us is probably the keeper of some seriously evil magic? Whoa," Addie said.

Roxy shook her head. "You guys found each other. You're all friends. I highly doubt you would be if one of you had the stone of a Trix. Those girls were bad news."

"So, whose souls do we have?" said Violet.

"I can't really tell," Roxy admitted. "I don't know how it manifests. But, um… Sebeka had orange power? That might have been Stella, the fairy of the shining sun."

Sebeka thought. The shining sun. A bit silly of a title, but an interesting power. Yes, she could see that.

"Violet can feel emotions more intensely… hmm, maybe Flora? It would fit, with your name. She was the fairy of nature. And Addie's fairy doesn't talk to her, which might be because of quiet, but might be because of lack of power. And her gem lights up… Addie, maybe you have Tecna, the fairy of technology."

Addie looked at her gem, and then back up. "Okay," she said. "So I've got the magical equivalent of a Tamagotchi pet, who may or may not control technology. So, question. What now?"

* * *

It hadn't even taken Sky a day, and he had found her. The love of his life. His Bloom.

He had seen her running past him on the night he got to Gardenia and could barely believe his eyes. The firey red hair, the shining blue eyes, the slightly tanned skin- it was all the same. Yes, she had cut her hair into a short, ear-length style, and yes, he didn't get a really good look at her face, but who else could it be?

He followed her to her home, remaining unseen. He saw her take out a pink gemstone when she was walking in the door, and that was how he _knew._ That girl possessed the spirit of Bloom. There was no way that it could be anyone else.

"Your majesty? King Skeylling? SKY!"

Sky shook his luxurious blonde hair out and looked up. Brandon, his best friend and the captain of the Guard, was staring at him, a concerned look playing on his features. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. I'm just thinking about the new Bloom."

"Permission to speak freely?"

"Granted."

Brandon sighed. "Sky, I don't think that there is a Bloom anymore. No doubt Roxy believes it, but it was probably just a last-ditch prank of the Trix. Bloom is dead. There's no hope, no happiness, in pretending she could still be alive. You need to move on. She's been gone for four years, so stop letting her rule your life."

Sky looked down at the ground, clenched his teeth. "So, is that what you did about Stella?"

"Yes. Yes, it is. We're twenty-nine; it's time we move on before it's too late to."

Sky shook his head slowly. "Brandon, that is not a very Captain of the Royal Guard thing to say. If there is the slightest chance that they still exist… don't we have to take it, for the sakes of everyone?"

"But there isn't," Brandon said. "So you need to stop thinking that there is."

* * *

Nora Kusterbeck poked at a piece of wire, very carefully. "So, you want to learn about computers?"

"I'm actually more curious about how much you know. And when you learned," Addie said smoothly.

"Um… it was a few years back. Two, three? I just kind of gradually started noticing computer stuff. Picking up information. And then I went to computer camp last year, so I've actually kind of got a good database of knowledge." Nora placed the computer's fan cover back on and flipped the switch. It started soundlessly and beautifully.

"Wow, you've really got the magic touch," Addie said.

"If you say so." Nora cracked her back. "So, why are you so curious about computers all of a sudden?"

Addie shrugged. "No reason."

* * *

Addie spread out her papers. After she asked what to do, Roxy had given the Snowdrop Coven a mission- to locate all nine girls. Each had a different power, and Addie had wasted no time in memorizing them. Ice, darkness, weather, fire, sun, nature, music, technology, and waves. It was all well and good to find out who had a gem, but without knowing who had what power, the information was practically for nothing.

There were nine pieces of paper, each with the power listed at the top, and possible carriers underneath. The page for technology now had two names- Addie and Nora. The plant page only listed Violet, and Sebeka was on both the sun and fire papers, simply because the girls' main lead as to her powers was the color orange, and that could have been either.

The white-haired girl thought as hard as she could. She didn't know that many people, but Roxy swore that all nine girls were in Gardenia, and how hard could it be to find nine girls in a small city? There were only two high schools, even, and the age group of the girls chosen put all nine of them in high school.

That was when Addie had the idea. What girl had access to both schools and was kind, smart, and trusted enough to make use of that ability?

Easy. Sebeka.

* * *

Paige had stopped for breath when she felt the hand clamp on her shoulder, then another over her mouth right as she tried to scream. Then a male voice said, "Shhh. Don't be afraid."

But she couldn't not be! A stranger was keeping her captive, and as he was behind her, she couldn't see him… couldn't see if he had a knife, or a gun, or anything!

Suddenly, she was being forced to turn around, and she could see that the man who grabbed her had blonde hair even longer than her red hair, and beautiful blue eyes. They were misleadingly kind, as his hands were misleadingly soft. Paige wondered why he was grabbing girls off the street- he could have nearly any he wanted.

He took one hand and stroked her hair. "I've been waiting for you," he said, and Paige's confusion turned to fear. She tried to turn and run, but he grabbed her again. Then, he leaned down and kissed her, softly, romantically, but with an underlying need and urgency that was, frankly gross.

She was frozen, unsure what to do for the first seconds of the kiss, but when he opened his mouth slightly, she pushed him off of him. At least, that was what she had meant to do. Instead, a sort of shock emitted from her hands, causing the man's hair to stand on end. It would have been funny if Paige had not been so terrified.

She didn't take a moment to see how long he would stand there, shocked. She did something smart, for a change, and began to run again. This time, faster and harder than before, occasionally looking back to see if the man was following.

When it had been a mile and she hadn't seen him, she breathed a sigh of relief. And then, began to worry.

What had just happened?


End file.
